Anna Cohen will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 25. 2025 at Kol Ami Synagogue. She is the daughter of Noah Cohen and Havah Haskell z”l. Anna attends Esperero Canyon Middle School. She loves music, animals, national parks, and Japanese anime. For her mitzvah project, Anna is… Read more »
Farfel One morning during COVID, I went for a morning walk with my dog, Farfel. I saw three dogs, five birds, two rabbits, eight snails, and two fish. I am not making this up! I live on a pond in the middle of Tucson. It was a relief and a… Read more »
Brian Alterowitz Tucson Hebrew Academy recently hired Brian Alterowitz as director of operations. Alterowitz is a dedicated and highly skilled organizer with a deep-rooted passion for community, education, and public service. With over 25 years of distinguished service in the United States Army, he retired at the rank of Chief Warrant… Read more »
Rachel Fish, Ph.D. Scholar/activist Dr. Rachel Fish is a renowned expert on antisemitism in America. She will be in Tucson on Sunday, October 26, to lead Southwest Institute 2025, a program from the Center for Jewish Resilience at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona designed to help educators and administrators identify and address… Read more »
Jonathan Breakstone of Phoenix,, StandWithUs Regional Director Jake Bennett, Rabbi Benzion Shemtov of Chabad of Cochise County, and Doug Levy of Tucson (Photo courtesy CJR/JPSA) The Bisbee city council tabled a resolution Sept. 16 that called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The seven-member council agreed in an executive meeting to table the resolution indefinitely. The biased, anti-Israel resolution was authored by freshman councilmembers Pete Skinner and Trish Damon. Mayor Ken Budge and other council… Read more »
Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford in her Tucson home with her bilingual children’s books. (Courtesy Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford) Tucson resident and author Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford originally wrote “What Color is Your Hand?/ De qué color es tu mano?” 24 years ago, after a poignant moment with her 4-year-old grandson, Jordan. She and her husband, Daniel, had taken Jordan to Legoland in California on vacation. When Rivera-Ashford… Read more »
Dorron Blumberg Tucson Hebrew Academy recently hired Dorron Blumberg as its director of marketing, communications, and advancement. Blumberg brings over a decade of marketing expertise to THA to amplify the school’s mission and reach. He is dedicated to showcasing THA’s educational programs, rooted in traditional Jewish values, to more families across… Read more »
Residents and guests enjoy a holiday meal at Handmaker. For over 60 years, Handmaker has made it possible for residents, along with family and friends, to enjoy kosher holiday meals and holiday services at Handmaker. For more than half of that time, Mel Cohen has been leading the Shabbat and holiday services, with help from Dan Asia, Mike… Read more »
Sarah Tolar Acclaimed jazz singer Sarah Tolar will lend her signature smooth vocals and heartfelt style to Rhapsody in Hope, a special benefit concert for Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS). The performance will be held Sunday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. at the Berger Theater. Joined by… Read more »
Klezmerkaba Following a successful 30th-anniversary gala last November, Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley is planning a new event, “Uniting the Community Through Music.” “We are living in a time of terrible anger and a great divide of ideas that separate us from each other. Kindness seems to have… Read more »
The Center for Jewish Resilience (CJR) at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona will host its inaugural Southwest Institute on Sunday, October 26, which seeks to bring together community stakeholders for educational programming about Jewish peoplehood, contemporary antisemitism, and pushing back against this and other forms of hatred. For its… Read more »
From left, Tucson Jewish Community Center President and CEO Todd Rockoff, Tucson J Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Rachael Mitchell, and Tucson J Board Member Tamar Kugler at the 2024 Z3 Conference in Palo Alto, California. The Z3 Conference, an initiative of the Oshman Family JCC, brings Jews from across the political and religious spectrum together to explore Israel, Zionism, identity, and the future of Jewish life. The conference will celebrate 10 years this fall. For several years, Todd Rockoff, Tucson J President and CEO,… Read more »
Jane Berenbeim, International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies immediate past president, center, with Southern Arizona Genealogical Society Co-Presidents Nancy Grayson, left, and Rich Schlesinger The Southern Arizona Jewish Genealogical Society won the Member of the Year Award at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies’ 45th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from August 10-14, 2025. The IAJGS represents more than 90 Jewish genealogical societies worldwide. Rich Schlesinger and… Read more »
A son, Jake Madden Jesselson, was born Aug. 27 to Claire and Rob Jesselson of Tucson. Jake joins his two-year-old big brother, Ari. Maternal grandparents are Michael Graham and Terry Fortunato of Tucson. This is their second grandchild. Paternal grandparents are Mark and Sue Jesselson o Northbrook, Illinois. This… Read more »
Hiking throughout Israel helped Gabe Melson connect with the land. (Courtesy Gabe Melson) This summer, local teen Gabe Melson went on a meaningful and inspiring journey to Israel through the Ramah Israel Seminar, supported by the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund held at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. Before his departure, Gabe met with Yuval Malka, Southern Arizona’s Senior… Read more »
Larry passed away peacefully in his home in Tucson, Arizona, looking out at the view of the mountains that he so cherished. He was 87 years old. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years Gail Leiken, daughters Karen Farley and Julie Leiken in Boulder, Colorado, son… Read more »
Project Isaiah, the Jewish community’s annual High Holidays food and fund drive benefiting the Community Food Bank, begins on Monday, Sept. 8, and will continue through Friday, Oct. 17. The project is named for the Prophet Isaiah, who, when asked why we fast on Yom Kippur, responded, “Is it… Read more »
Photo: Rabbi Avi Alpert officiates at the wedding of Neshama and Laif Madson on Nov. 17, 2024. (Photo courtesy Congregation Bet Shalom)
Tucson’s Congregation Bet Shalom has quadrupled in size since 2012. That’s when Avi Alpert came on board as its spiritual leader, first as a cantor and later as a full-fledged rabbi. Congregants attribute the change to Alpert, whom they describe as “incredibly approachable” and “very open-minded, but very strong… Read more »
Sam Horowitz (Photo courtesy Congegation B'nai Midbar) Samuel I. Horowitz, 79, died Aug. 18, 2025, in Rockville, Maryland, after a yearlong battle with leukemia. He was formerly a resident of SaddleBrooke, Arizona. Sam grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where he attended yeshiva day school and forged a deep passion for Judaism. He served in the… Read more »
SandRuby Community Programs has been providing care for adults and respite for their caregivers for many years. Part of the Handmaker Family of Services, SandRuby provides a safe, social environment for older adults, where they are surrounded by friends and trained and loving staff, and have the opportunity to… Read more »
